SAR Guidance Package

In November 2003, FinCEN, in consultation with the federal regulatory authorities, issued a guidance package designed to assist financial institutions in preparing Suspicious Activity Report forms and improving the quality of information provided in Suspicious Activity Report narratives. The guidance package consists of three parts:

Part I: Guidance on Preparing a Complete and Sufficient Suspicious Activity Report Narrative;
Part II: The Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Form (a PowerPoint presentation); and
Part III: Keys to Writing a Complete & Sufficient SAR Narrative (also a PowerPoint presentation.)

This guidance package is found on the FinCEN website at http://www.fincen.gov/ narrativeguidance_webintro.pdf. Financial institution Bank Secrecy Act compliance officers, law enforcement officials and others may download the PowerPoint presentations to complement their existing Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering training programs.

Excerpted from SAR Activity Review Issue 7, page 37